Synthetic decorative grass simulating spanish moss and method for making same

ABSTRACT

Curled decorative grasses and methods for producing same are disclosed wherein the curled decorative grasses have improved bulk and simulate Spanish moss in color and appearance.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/659,657filed Sep. 11, 2000, entitled “SYNTHETIC DECORATIVE GRASS SIMULATINGSPANISH MOSS AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME”; which is a continuation ofU.S. Ser. No. 09/338,249 filed Jun. 22, 1999, entitled “SYNTHETICDECORATIVE GRASS SIMULATING SPANISH MOSS AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME”;which claims benefit of provisional application U.S. Ser. No.60/092,150, filed Jul. 9, 1998, entitled “SYNTHETIC DECORATIVE GRASSASSIMILATING SPANISH MOSS AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME.”

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention relates generally to decorative grass andmethods for producing same, and more particularly, but not by way oflimitation, to curled, intertwined decorative grass simulating Spanishmoss and methods for producing same.

[0005] 2. Brief Description of Prior Art

[0006] Spanish moss is an epiphytic of the pineapple family which formspendent tufts of grayish green filaments on trees from the southernUnited States of America to Argentina. Spanish moss, when dried hasheretofore been used as decorative material as well as a packingmaterial. However, Spanish moss is expensive and Spanish moss oftencontains undesirable amounts of chaff and dust.

[0007] Synthetic decorative grass has been used for many years in Easterbaskets and for other decorative purposes. The synthetic decorativegrass of the prior art has been produced by numerous methods and from avariety of materials such as polymeric materials, paper, cellophane orthe like. Typically, such materials are cut and shredded to producesegments having predetermined dimensions. One such prior art method formaking decorative grass is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,266, issuedto Weder, et al., wherein a plastic film is extruded and cut intoplastic strips which are passed through a slow-speed godet, an oven anda high-speed godet so that the strips are drawn down in width andthickness without breaking. From the high-speed godet, the strips orstrands are chopped to a desired length and conveyed to a storage areafor subsequent bagging and packaging.

[0008] While the prior art methods for making decorative grass have beenwidely accepted, new and improved methods for making decorative grasseshaving improved bulk and aesthetic qualities, such as simulating theappearance of Spanish moss, are being sought which are less costly. Itis to such decorative grasses and methods for producing same that thepresent invention is directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention relates to curled, intertwined decorativegrasses having improved bulk and which simulate the appearance ofSpanish moss. In one aspect, the present invention relates to methodsfor making decorative grasses which simulate, in appearance and color,Spanish moss. Because of the reduced amount of chaff and dust present inthe curled decorative grasses simulating the appearance of Spanish mossmade in accordance with the present invention, as well as the increasedbulk of such curled decorative grasses, such decorative grasses can beused as decorative materials, as a filler for Easter baskets, i.e.Easter grass, as well as for animal bedding, cat litter, mulch for soiland media for plants.

[0010] The curled decorative grasses having improved bulk and whichsimulate the appearance of Spanish moss are produced by imparting a curlto a web or sheet of material having a color simulating the color ofSpanish moss (i.e. grayish green) and thereafter cutting the curled webor sheet of material into stands of material which are intertwined andsimulate Spanish moss in appearance.

[0011] The web or sheet of material can be formed of any materialcapable of being curled and dyed to a color simulating the color ofspanish moss. Examples of materials which can be used as the web orsheet of material in the production of curled, intertwined decorativegrasses which simulate Spanish moss in appearance are paper andlaminates, such as laminates made of at least two polymeric films, orlaminates made of polymeric film and paper, or laminates made of metalfoil and a polymeric film or paper.

[0012] An object of the present invention is to provide curleddecorative grasses which simulate the appearance of Spanish moss.

[0013] Another object of the present invention, while achieving thebefore-stated object, is to provide curled decorative grasses whichsimulate the appearance of Spanish moss and which have improved bulk.

[0014] Yet another object of the present invention, while achieving thebefore-stated objects, is to provide methods for producing curleddecorative grasses simulating the appearance of Spanish moss which arecost effective.

[0015] Other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following detailed description when readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The file of this patent contains at least one drawing executed incolor. Copies of this patent with color drawing(s) will be provided bythe Patent and Trademark Office upon request and payment of thenecessary fee.

[0017]FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a system for making acurled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss from a laminated web ofmaterial in accordance with the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of another system for makinga curled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss from a laminated webof material in accordance with the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first web of material and asecond web of material employed to produce the laminated web of materialof FIG. 2, the first web of material being shorter in length than thesecond web of material.

[0020]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the first and second webs ofmaterial of FIG. 3 wherein the first web of material is stretched priorto laminating the first and second webs of material so that a curl isimparted to the laminated web of material.

[0021]FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a system for making acurled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss from a web of paper inaccordance with the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of curled decorative grasssimulating Spanish moss prepared in accordance with the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates schematically asystem 10 for making curled decorative grass 12 simulating Spanish mossin accordance with the present invention. That is, the curled decorativegrass 12 has an intertwined configuration and a color (i.e. grayishgreen) which provides the curled, intertwined decorative grass with anappearance simulating Spanish moss (see FIG. 6). Thus, the curleddecorative grass 12 is especially suited for use as a decoratingmaterial in place of Spanish moss, and as a decorative grass in Easterbaskets, or as packing material, animal bedding, cat litter, mulch forsoil and media for plants.

[0024] The system 10 includes a roll of material 14 which consists of asubstantially flat web of laminated material 16 capable of having a curlimparted thereto. The laminated material 16, which is dyed or colored tohave a grayish green color substantially corresponding to the color ofSpanish moss, can be formed by laminating a first web of material 18 toa second web of material 20 by any method known in the art.

[0025] Any ink or dye capable of imparting the desired grayish greencolor to the laminated material 16 or the first and/or second webs ofmaterial 18 and 20 so that the laminated material 16 is provided with agrayish green color simulating the color of Spanish moss can be employedas the dye or ink in the practice of the present invention. Such inksand dyes are commercially available and well known in the art. Anexample of an ink which may be applied to the laminated material 16 orthe first and/or second webs of material 18 and 20 so that the laminatedmaterial 16 is provided with a grayish green color simulating the colorof Spanish moss is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706 entitled “WaterBased Ink On Foil And/Or Synthetic Organic Polymer” issued to Kingman onSep. 15, 1992 and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Inaddition, if a bonding material is used to laminate the first and secondwebs of material 18 and 20 together, the bonding material may also betinted or colored by using a dye, pigment, or ink having a grayish greencolor simulating the color of Spanish moss.

[0026] The roll of material 14 is supported on a mandrel 22 having abrake assembly 24 operably connected thereto so that the web oflaminated material 16 can be controllably withdrawn from the roll ofmaterial 12. The web of laminated material 16 withdrawn from the roll ofmaterial 12 is drawn over a curling edge 26 of a curl bar 28 so as toprovide a curled web of laminated material 30.

[0027] The curling edge 26 of the curl bar 28 is angularly disposedrelative to the travel path of the web of laminated material 16 so thatas the web of laminated material 16 is drawn over the curling edge 26 ofthe curl bar 28, the curled web of laminated material 30 is produced.The angular disposition of the curling edge 26 of the curl bar 28relative to the web of laminated material 16 can vary widely and will bedependent to a large degree on the amount and type of curl to beimparted to the web of laminated material 16, as well as to the curlingproperties of the first and second webs of material 18 and 20 or the webof laminated material 16. Generally, however, the curling edge 26 of thecurl bar 28 will be disposed at an angle of from about 15 degrees toabout 180 degrees relative to the direction of travel of the web oflaminated material 16.

[0028] To maintain the desired tension on the web of laminated material16 as the web of laminated material 16 is drawn over the curling edge 26of the curl bar 28, the system 10 may further include a pair of tensionor nip rollers 32 and 33 positioned upstream of the curl bar 26 and apair of tension or nip rollers 34 and 35 positioned downstream of thecurl bar 28 to ensure proper tension on the web of laminated material16, as well as angular disposition of the web of material laminated 16,as the web of laminated material 16 is drawn over the curling edge 26 ofthe curl bar 28. The curled web of laminated material 30, upon passagethrough the tension rollers 32 and 34, is fed into a slitter or shredderunit 36 where the curled web of laminated material 30 is slit to providea slit web of curled laminated material 37 having a plurality of curledstrips of predetermined width.

[0029] The slitting of the curled web of laminated material 30 toproduce the slit web of curled laminated material 37 having a pluralityof curled strips of predetermined width can be accomplished using anywell known method and device. Such common methods of slitting the curledweb of laminated material 30 include: (a) slitting the curled web oflaminated material 30 to produce side-by-side strips of material whereinthe longer dimension of the strips is in the direction of travel of thecurled web of laminated material 30, i.e. the machine direction; or (b)slitting the curled web of laminated material 30 so that the longerdimension of the strips of material are oblique to the direction oftravel of the curled web of laminated material 30, i.e. obliquely to themachine direction.

[0030] The slit web of curled laminated material 37 is then passedthrough a cutting unit 38 where the curled strips of the slit web ofcurled laminated material 37 are cut into segments to form the curleddecorative grass 12 which, in cluster form, simulates Spanish moss inappearance.

[0031] Any conventional device and method can be employed as the slitteror shredder unit 36 for slitting of the curled web of laminated material30 to produce the slit web of curled laminated material 37 and forcutting the curled strips of the slit web of curled laminated material37 to form the curled decorative grass 12 simulating Spanish moss.Examples of conventional devices which can be used as the slitter orshredder unit 36 and/or as the cutting unit 38 are rotary knives,reciprocating knives, die cutting, laser cutting, water jet cutting, airjet cutting and the like.

[0032] The curled decorative grass 12 simulating Spanish moss producedby cutting the slit web of curled laminated material 37 can then beconveyed to a storage area (not shown) which may be in the form of asuitable bin, or the curled decorative grass 12 simulating Spanish mossmay be conveyed to a packaging machine, or the curled decorative grass12 simulating Spanish moss may be conveyed to a baling machine forbaling prior to storage. As other alternatives, the curled decorativegrass 12 simulating Spanish moss may be placed into boxes or cartons,subjected to further processing immediately or held for subsequentprocessing.

[0033] Any material capable of having a curl imparted thereto and whichcan be dyed or colored can be employed as the first web of material 18and second web of material 20. However, desirable results can beachieved wherein the first web of material 18 is paper and the secondweb of material 20 is a polymeric film; or wherein the first and secondwebs of material 18 and 20 are each made of a polymeric film, or whereinthe first web of material 18 is a polymeric film or paper and the secondweb of material 20 is a metal foil.

[0034] The first web of material 18 and the second web of material 20can be constructed of any material capable of having a curl impartedthereto so that the laminated web of material 16 produced by laminationof the first and second webs 18 and 20 is capable of having a curlimparted thereto. The first web of material 18 can be constructed ofeither a transparent polymeric material which permits the color of thesecond web of material 20 to be viewed through the first web of material18, or a polymeric material which can be dyed or colored so that thelaminated web of material 16 simulates the color of Spanish moss, orpaper; and the second web of material 20 can be constructed of apolymeric material or metal foil which can be dyed or colored so thatthe laminated web of material 16 simulates the color of Spanish moss.

[0035] The first web of material 18 will generally have a thickness in arange from about 0.1 mils to about 10 mils, and more desirably in arange of from about 0.4 mils to about 0.9 mils; and the second web ofmaterial 20 will generally have a thickness in a range from about 0.1mils to about 10 mils, and more desirably in a range of from about 0.4mils to about 0.9 mils. Further, the first and/or second webs ofmaterial 18 and 20 may be constructed of a single layer of material or alaminated material containing a plurality of layers of the same ordifferent types of materials as long as the web of laminated material 16can have the desired curl imparted to it.

[0036]FIG. 2 illustrates schematically another system 40 for making acurled decorative grass 42 simulating Spanish moss from a roll ofmaterial 43 which consists of a substantially flat web of laminatedmaterial 44 which has a preset curl formed therein. The laminatedmaterial 44 is dyed or colored to have a grayish color substantiallycorresponding to the color of Spanish moss. The web laminated material44 (only a segment being shown in FIG. 3) is provided with a preset curlformed during lamination of a first web material 46 to a second web ofmaterial 48 to produce the web of laminated material 44.

[0037] Referring now to FIG. 4 in combination with FIGS. 2 and 3, thepreset curl is provided in the web of laminated material 44 bystretching at least one of the webs of material, such as the first webof material 46, and maintaining the first web of material 46 in astretched condition during lamination of the first web of material 46 tothe second web of material 48. That is, as depicted in FIG. 4, the firstweb of material 46 is provided with a length 50 which is less than alength 52 of the second web of material 48. It should be understood,however, that the first web of material 46 could be provided with awidth 54 which is different than a width 56 of the second web ofmaterial 48; or the length 50 and the width 54 of the first web ofmaterial 46 could be of a different dimension than the length 52 and thewidth 56 of the second web of material 48.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 4, the first web of material 46 is disposedadjacent the second web of material 48. The first web of material 46 isthen stretched in direction 60 (FIG. 4) a predetermined amount requiredto produce the desired curl in the web of laminated material 44 when thestretch first web of material 46 is laminated to the second web ofmaterial 48.

[0039] With the first web of material 46 in the stretched condition andsubstantially aligned with the second web of material 48, the first andsecond webs of material 46 and 48 are then laminated together by anymethod known in the art. By laminating the first web of material 46 tothe second web of material 48 while the first web of material 46 is inthe stretched condition, the first web of material 46 creates a recoiltension wherein the first web of material 46 tends to return to itsoriginal length which results in a preset curl being formed in the webof laminated material 44 substantially as shown in FIG. 3.

[0040] Any ink or dye capable of imparting the desired grayish greencolor to the web of laminated material 44 or the first and/or secondwebs of material 46 and 48 so that the web of laminated material 44 isprovided with a grayish green color simulating the color of Spanish mosscan be employed as the dye or ink in the practice of the presentinvention. Such inks and dyes are commercially available and well knownin the art. An example of an ink which may be applied to the surface ofthe web of laminated material 44 or the first and/or second webs ofmaterial 46 and 48 so that the web of laminated material 16 is providedwith a grayish color simulating the color of Spanish moss is describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706 entitled “Water Based Ink On Foil And/OrSynthetic Organic Polymer” issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992 and whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference. In addition, the bondingmaterial used to laminate the first and second webs of material 46 and48 together may also be tinted or colored by using a dye, pigment, orink having a grayish green color simulating the color of Spanish moss.

[0041] The first web of material 46 can be constructed of any materialwhich can be stretch and laminated to the second web of material 48 soas to impart a curl to the laminated web of material 44. Further, thefirst web of material 44 is constructed of either a transparentpolymeric material which permits the color of the second web of material48 to be viewed through the first web of material 44, or a materialwhich can be dyed or colored so that the laminated web of material 44simulates the color of Spanish moss. However, desirable results can beachieved wherein the first web of material 46 is a polymeric film andthe second web of material 48 is paper; or wherein the first and secondwebs of material 46 and 48 are each made of a polymeric film; or wherethe first web of material 46 is a polymeric film and the second web ofmaterial 48 is a metal foil.

[0042] The first web of material 46 will generally have a thickness in arange from about 0.1 mils to about 10 mils, and more desirably in arange of from about 0.4 mils to about 0.9 mils; and the second web ofmaterial 48 will generally have a thickness in a range from about 0.1mils to about 10 mils, and more desirably in a range of from about 0.4mils to about 0.9 mils. Further, the first and/or second webs ofmaterial 46 and 48 may be constructed of a single layer of material or alaminated material containing a plurality of layers of the same ordifferent types of materials as long as the web of laminated material 44is provided with a preset curl.

[0043] Referring again to FIG. 2, the roll of material 43 is supportedon a mandrel 50 having a brake assembly 52 operably connected thereto sothat the web of laminated material 44 having a preset curl can becontrollably withdrawn from the roll of material 43. The web oflaminated material 44 having a preset curl is passed through a pair oftension or nip rollers 54 and 56 and into a slitter or shredder unit 62where the web of laminated material 44 having a preset curl is slit toprovide a slit web of curled laminated material 64 having a plurality ofcurled strips of predetermined width. The slitting of the web oflaminated material 44 having a preset curl to produce the slit web ofcurled laminated material 64 having a plurality of curled strips ofpredetermined width can be accomplished using any well known method anddevice. Such common methods of slitting the web of laminated material 44having a preset curl include: (a) slitting the web of laminated material44 having a preset curl to produce side-by-side strips of materialwherein the longer dimension of the strips is in the direction of travelof the web of laminated material 44 having a preset curl, i.e. themachine direction; or (b) slitting the web of laminated material 44having a preset curl so that the longer dimension of the strips ofmaterial are oblique to the direction of travel of the web of laminatedmaterial 44 having a preset curl, i.e. obliquely to the machinedirection.

[0044] The slit web of curled laminated material 64 is then passedthrough a cutting unit 66 where the curled strips of the slit web ofcurled laminated material 64 are cut into segments to form the curleddecorative grass 42 simulating Spanish moss.

[0045] Any conventional device and method can be employed as the slitteror shredder unit 62 for slitting of the web of laminated material 44having a preset curl to produce the curled strips of the slit web ofcurled laminated material 64 and for cutting the curled strips of theslit web of curled laminated material 64 to form the curled decorativegrass 42 simulating Spanish moss. Examples of conventional devices whichcan be used as the slitter or shredder unit 62 and/or as the cuttingunit 66 are rotary knives, reciprocating knives, die cutting, lasercutting, water jet cutting, air jet cutting and the like. Examples ofsuch conventional devices and methods which can be employed to cut theslit web of curled laminated material 64 are rotary knives,reciprocating knives, die cutting, laser cutting, water jet cutting, airjet cutting and the like.

[0046] The curled decorative grass 42 simulating Spanish moss producedby cutting the slit web of curled laminated material 64 can then beconveyed to a storage area (not shown) which may be in the form of asuitable bin, or the curled decorative grass 42 simulating Spanish mossmay be conveyed to a packaging machine, or the curled decorative grass42 simulating Spanish moss may be conveyed to a baling machine forbaling prior to storage. As other alternatives, the curled decorativegrass 42 simulating Spanish moss may be placed into boxes or cartons,subjected to further processing immediately or held for subsequentprocessing.

[0047]FIG. 5 illustrates schematically another system 70 for making acurled decorative grass 72 simulating Spanish moss from a roll ofmaterial 74 which consists of a substantially flat web of paper,polymeric film, or metal foil 76 capable of having a curl set therein.The paper can include additives, such as shape-sustaining agents,water-proofing agents, anti-static agents and the like as long as thepaper containing such agents can be curled and used to produce thecurled decorative grass 72 which is intertwined and simulates Spanishmoss in appearance. Similarly, the polymeric film can be anycommercially available polymeric film which can be curled and used toproduce the curled decorative grass 72 which is intertwined andsimulates Spanish moss in appearance. An example of a commerciallyavailable polymeric film which, when dyed to the desired grayish greencolor simulating the color of Spanish moss, can be used to produce thecurled decorative grass 72 is Vifan BT medium slip biaxially orientedpolypropylene film which is available from Vifan Canada, Inc., Vifanstreet, Lanoraie d'Autray, Quebec, Canada J0K 1E0, Another example of acommercially available polymeric film which, when dyed to the desiredgrayish green color simulating the color of Spanish moss, can be used toproduce the curled decorative grass 72 is Hercules B523 orientedpolypropylene packaging film which is available from HerculesIncorporated, Hercules Plaza, Wilmington, Del. 19894.

[0048] The paper, polymeric material, or metal foil is dyed or coloredto have a grayish green color substantially corresponding to the colorof Spanish moss. Any ink or dye capable of imparting the desired grayishgreen color simulating the color of Spanish moss can be employed as thedye or ink for the paper, polymeric film or metal foil. Such inks anddyes are commercially available and well known in the art. An example ofan ink which may be applied to the paper or polymeric film or metal foilso that the web of material 76 is provided with a grayish green colorsimulating the color of Spanish moss is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,147,706 entitled “Water Based Ink On Foil And/Or Synthetic OrganicPolymer” issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992, and which is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

[0049] The thickness of the web of material 76 employed to produce thecurled decorative grass 72 simulating the appearance of Spanish moss canvary widely. Generally however, the web of material 76 will have athickness in the range of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mils, and moredesirably from about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils.

[0050] The roll of material 74 is supported on a mandrel 78 having abrake assembly 80 operably connected thereto so that the web of material76 can be controllably withdrawn from the roll of material 74. The webof material 76 withdrawn from the roll of material 74 is drawn over acurling edge 82 of a curl bar 84 so as to provide a curled web ofmaterial 86.

[0051] The curling edge 82 of the curl bar 84 is angularly disposedrelative to the travel path of the web of material 76 so that as the webof material 76 is drawn over the curling edge 82 of the curl bar 84, thecurled web of material 86 is produced. The angular disposition of thecurling edge 82 of the curl bar 84 relative to the direction of travelof the web of material 76 over the curling edge 82 of the curl bar 84can vary widely and will be dependent to a large degree on the amountand type of curl to be imparted to the web of material 76, as well as tothe curling properties of the web of material 76. Generally, however,the curling edge 82 of the curl bar 84 will be disposed at an angle offrom about 15 degrees to about 180 degrees relative to the direction oftravel of the web of material 76.

[0052] To maintain the desired tension on the web of material 76 as theweb of material 76 is drawn over the curling edge 82 of the curl bar 84,the system 70 may further include a pair of tension or nip rollers 88and 90 positioned upstream of the curl bar 84 and a pair of tension ornip rollers 92 and 94 positioned downstream of the curl bar 84 to ensureproper tension on the web of material 76, as well as angular dispositionof the web of material 76, as the web of material 76 is drawn over thecurling edge 82 of the curl bar 84. The curled web of material 86, uponpassage through the tension rollers 92 and 94, is fed into a slitter orshredder unit 96 where the curled web of material 86 is slit to providea slit web of curled material 98 having a plurality of curled strips ofpredetermined width.

[0053] The slitting of the curled web of material 86 to produce the slitweb of curled material 98 having a plurality of curled strips ofpredetermined width can be accomplished using any well known method anddevice. Such common methods of slitting the curled web of material 86include: (a) slitting the curled web of material 86 to produceside-by-side strips of material wherein the longer dimension of thestrips is in the direction of travel of the curled web of material 86,i.e. the machine direction; or (b) slitting the curled web of material86 so that the longer dimension of the strips of material are oblique tothe direction of travel of the curled web of material 86, i.e. obliquelyto the machine direction.

[0054] The slit web of curled material 98 is then passed through acutting unit 100 where the curled strips of the slit web of curledmaterial 98 are cut into segments to form the curled decorative grass 72which, in cluster form, simulates Spanish moss.

[0055] Any conventional device and method can be employed as the slitteror shredder unit 96 for slitting of the curled web of paper or polymericfilm 86 to produce the slit web of curled paper or polymeric film 98 andfor cutting the curled strips of the slit web of curled paper orpolymeric film 98 to form the curled decorative grass 72 assimilatingSpanish moss. Examples of conventional devices which can be used as theslitter or shredder unit 96 and/or as the cutting unit 100 are rotaryknives, reciprocating knives, die cutting, laser cutting, water jetcutting, air jet cutting and the like.

[0056] The curled decorative grass 72 assimilating Spanish moss producedby cutting the slit web of curled paper or polymeric film 98 can then beconveyed to a storage area (not shown) which may be in the form of asuitable bin, or the curled decorative grass 72 assimilating Spanishmoss may be conveyed to a packaging machine, or the curled decorativegrass 72 assimilating Spanish moss may be conveyed to a baling machinefor baling prior to storage. As other alternatives, the curleddecorative grass 72 assimilating Spanish moss may be placed into boxesor cartons, subjected to further processing immediately or held forsubsequent processing.

[0057]FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of the curled decorativegrasses 12, 42 and 72 assimilating Spanish moss prepared in accordancewith the systems 10, 40 and 70 hereinbefore described with reference toFIGS. 1, 2 and 5.

[0058] Changes may be made in the embodiments of the invention describedherein, or in parts or elements of the embodiments described herein, orin the steps or sequence of steps of the methods described herein,without departing from the spirit and/or scope of the invention asdefined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for forming decorative grassassimilating Spanish moss, comprising: providing a first web ofmaterial; providing a second web of material; stretching the first webof material; maintaining the first web of material in the stretchedcondition while laminating the stretched first web of material to thesecond web of material to form a web of laminated material having apreset curl therein, the web of laminated material having a grayishgreen color substantially corresponding to the color of Spanish moss;and cutting at least a portion of the web of laminated material having apreset curl therein to form decorative curled grass, which in clusterform, simulates Spanish moss in appearance.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the step of cutting the web of laminated material having apreset curl therein to form decorative curled grass simulating Spanishmoss in appearance is further defined as slitting the web of laminatedmaterial having a preset curl and a grayish green color corresponding tothe color of Spanish moss to provide a slit web of curled laminatedmaterial having a plurality of strips of a predetermined width andthereafter cutting the plurality of strips of the slit web of curledlaminated material into segments to form curled decorative grass which,in cluster form, simulates Spanish moss in appearance.
 3. The method ofclaim 2 wherein the first web of material is provided with a thicknessin a range from about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils, and wherein the secondweb of material is provided with a thickness in a range from about 0.1mil to about 10 mils.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the first andsecond webs of material are polymeric film.
 5. The method of claim 3wherein the first web of material is polymeric film and the second webof material is paper.
 6. The method of claim 3 wherein the first web ofmaterial is laminated to the second web of material with a bondingmaterial tinted to simulate the grayish green color of Spanish moss. 7.The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second webs of material arepolymeric films.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first web ofmaterial is formed of polymeric film and the second web of material ispaper.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first web of material islaminated to the second web of material with a bonding material tintedto simulate the color of Spanish moss.
 10. A method for formingdecorative grass simulating Spanish moss in appearance, comprising:providing a web of laminated material having a color substantiallycorresponding with the color of Spanish moss and capable of having acurl imparted thereto; contacting the web of laminated material with asurface capable of providing a curl in the web of laminated material andapplying sufficient pressure to the laminated material to set the curlin the laminated material; and cutting at least a portion of the web oflaminated material having a curl set therein to form decorative curledgrass simulating Spanish moss in appearance.
 11. The method of claim 10wherein the step of cutting the web of laminated material having a curlset therein to form decorative curled grass simulating Spanish moss isfurther defined as slitting the web of laminated material having a curlset therein and a color corresponding with the color of Spanish moss toprovide a slit web of curled laminated material having a plurality ofstrips of a predetermined width and thereafter cutting the plurality ofstrips of the slit web of curled laminated material into segments toform curled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss in appearance. 12.The method of claim 11 wherein the web of laminated material capable ofhaving a curl imparted thereto comprises a first web of material havinga thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils and a secondweb of material having a thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil toabout 10 mils.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the first and secondwebs of material are formed of polymeric film.
 14. The method of claim12 wherein the first web of material is formed of a polymeric film andthe second web of material is formed of paper.
 15. The method of claim12 wherein the first web of material is laminated to the second web ofmaterial with a bonding material tinted to simulate the color of Spanishmoss.
 16. A method for making curled decorative grass simulating Spanishmoss comprising the steps of: drawing a web of laminated material havinga color substantially corresponding with the color of Spanish moss andcapable of having a curl imparted thereto over at least one curl barwhile maintaining the web of laminated material under tension so as toform a curled web of laminated material having a color substantiallycorresponding with the color of Spanish moss; slitting the curled web oflaminated material to provide a slit web of laminated materialcontaining a plurality of strips having a predetermined width; andcutting the slit web of laminated material to provide decorative curledgrass simulating Spanish moss in appearance.
 17. The method for makingcurled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss of claim 16 wherein thecurl bar is provided with a curling edge over which the web of laminatedmaterial is drawn to form the curled web of laminated material andwherein the curling edge of the curl bar is disposed at an angle of fromabout 15 degrees to about 180 degrees relative to the direction oftravel of the web of laminated material.
 18. The method for makingcurled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss of claim 17 wherein theweb of laminated material having a color substantially correspondingwith the color of Spanish moss and capable of having a curl impartedthereto comprises a first web of material having a thickness in a rangefrom about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils and a second web of material havinga thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils.
 19. Themethod for making curled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss ofclaim 18 wherein the first and second webs of material are polymericfilm.
 20. The method for making curled decorative grass simulatingSpanish moss of claim 18 wherein the first web of material is polymericfilm and the second web of material is paper.
 21. The method for makingcurled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss of claim 18 wherein thefirst web of material is laminated to the second web of material with abonding material tinted to simulate the color of Spanish moss.
 22. Amethod for making curled decorative grass simulating Spanish mosscomprising the steps of: providing a web of laminated material having adistortion preset therein, the web of material having a colorsubstantially corresponding with the color of Spanish moss; slitting theweb of laminated material having a distortion preset therein to providea slit web of laminated material containing a plurality of strips havinga predetermined width; and cutting the slit web of laminated material toprovide decorative curled grass which, in cluster form, simulatesSpanish moss in appearance.
 23. The method for making curled decorativegrass simulating Spanish moss of claim 22 wherein the web of laminatedmaterial having a distortion preset therein and a color substantiallycorresponding with the color of Spanish moss comprises a first web ofmaterial having a thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 10mils and a second web of material having a thickness in a range fromabout 0.1 mil to about 10 mils.
 24. The method for making curleddecorative grass assimilating Spanish moss of claim 23 wherein the firstand second webs of material are polymeric film.
 25. The method formaking curled decorative grass assimilating Spanish moss of claim 23wherein the first web of material is polymeric film and the second webof material is paper.
 26. The method for making curled decorative grassassimilating Spanish moss of claim 23 wherein the first web of materialis laminated to the second web of material with a bonding materialtinted to simulate the color of Spanish moss.
 27. A curled decorativegrass formed of a laminated material having a predetermined color and acurl or distortion imparted thereto which, when cut into strips having apredetermined width, provides a cluster of segments which simulateSpanish moss.
 28. A method for making curled decorative grass simulatingSpanish moss comprising the steps of: drawing a web of material selectedfrom the group consisting of paper, polymeric film and combinationsthereof and having a color substantially corresponding to the color ofSpanish moss and which is capable of having a curl imparted thereto overat least one curl bar while maintaining the web of material undertension so as to form a curled web of material having a colorsubstantially corresponding with the color of Spanish moss; slitting thecurled web of material to provide a slit web of material containing aplurality of strips having a predetermined width; and cutting the slitweb of material to provide decorative curled grass simulating Spanishmoss in appearance.
 29. The method for making curled decorative grasssimulating Spanish moss of claim 28 wherein the curl bar is providedwith a curling edge over which the web of material is drawn to form thecurled web of material and wherein the curling edge of the curl bar isdisposed at an angle of from about 15 degrees to about 180 degreesrelative to the direction of travel of the web of material.
 30. Themethod for making curled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss ofclaim 29 wherein the web of material having a color substantiallycorresponding to the color of Spanish moss and which capable of having acurl imparted thereto has a thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil toabout 10 mils.
 31. The method for making curled decorative grasssimulating Spanish moss of claim 28 wherein the web of material having acolor substantially corresponding to the color of Spanish moss and whichis capable of having a curl imparted thereto has a thickness in a rangefrom about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils.
 32. A method for making curleddecorative grass simulating Spanish moss comprising the steps of:imparting a curl to a web of paper having a color substantiallycorresponding with the color of Spanish moss so as to form a curled webof paper having a color substantially corresponding with the color ofSpanish moss; slitting the curled web of paper to provide a slit web ofpaper containing a plurality of strips having a predetermined width; andcutting the slit web of paper to provide decorative curled grass which,in cluster form, simulates Spanish moss in appearance and color.
 33. Themethod for making curled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss ofclaim 32 wherein the web of paper having a color substantiallycorresponding with the color of Spanish moss has a thickness in a rangefrom about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils.
 34. A method for making curleddecorative grass simulating Spanish moss comprising the steps of:imparting a curl to a web of polymeric film having a color substantiallycorresponding with the color of Spanish moss so as to form a curled webof polymeric film having a color substantially corresponding to thecolor of Spanish moss; slitting the curled web of polymeric film toprovide a slit web of polymeric film containing a plurality of stripshaving a predetermined width; and cutting the slit web of polymeric filmto provide decorative curled grass simulating Spanish moss inappearance.
 35. The method for making curled decorative grass simulatingSpanish moss of claim 34 wherein the web of polymeric film having acolor substantially corresponding with the color of Spanish moss has athickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils.
 36. A methodfor making curled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss comprisingthe steps of: providing a web of paper having a color substantiallycorresponding to the color of Spanish moss, the web of paper having acurl set therein; cutting the web of paper into a plurality ofintertwined strips which, in cluster form, provide decorative curledgrass simulating Spanish moss in appearance.
 37. The method for makingcurled decorative grass simulating Spanish moss of claim 32 wherein theweb of paper has a thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 10mils.
 38. A method for making curled decorative grass simulating Spanishmoss comprising the steps of: providing a web of polymeric film having acolor substantially corresponding to the color of Spanish moss, the webof polymeric film having a curl set therein; cutting the web ofpolymeric film into a plurality of intertwined strips which, in clusterform, provide decorative curled grass simulating Spanish moss in colorand appearance.
 39. The method for making curled decorative grassassimilating Spanish moss of claim 38 wherein the web of polymeric filmhas a thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils.
 40. Acurled decorative grass formed of paper having a predetermined color anda curl or distortion imparted thereto which, when cut into strips havinga predetermined width, provides a cluster of segments which provides adecorative grass simulating Spanish moss in appearance.
 41. A curleddecorative grass formed of a polymeric film having a predetermined colorand a curl or distortion imparted thereto which, when cut into stripshaving a predetermined width, provides a cluster of segments whichprovides a decorative grass simulating Spanish moss in appearance.